Man In Wheelchair Unable To Escape Dallas Fire

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – A house fire in northwest Dallas turned deadly after a man inside was unable to escape in his wheelchair. The incident happened at about 8:40 p.m. Monday night in the 3800 block of Crown Shore Drive.

The fire was already burning strong when emergency crews first arrived on the scene. A woman was standing outside of the fiery home, near the front door, telling firefighters that her son was still trapped inside and could not get out because of his wheelchair. “Her son is wheelchair-bound and he had a difficult time negotiating whatever pathway he needed to get out,” said Jason Evans with Dallas Fire-Rescue.

Firefighters went inside of the burning home to attempt to rescue the man, but the smoke and flames became too overwhelming before he was located. “Firefighters immediately went inside for an aggressive offensive attack to try and search for the person that was still inside,” Evans explained. “The fire became so intense that they had to pull back for a defensive attack and monitor their own safety.”

Once the flames were extinguished, crews found the 59-year-old victim dead inside of the charred home. “He didn’t make it,” Evans confirmed. The official cause of death has not yet been determined.

Meanwhile, the home has been ruled a total loss. Fire officials are now trying to determine the exact cause of the fire, which is believed to have started in a back room of the home.